A Food Allergy Sufferer’s Essential Guide to Singapore

I had a close call with a food allergy abroad recently. I was craving a pork chop bun in Macau and managed to get hold of one in a neighbourhood shop. V, who was with me, saw how much I enjoyed it and got one for herself too.

I didn’t think about the eggs that could have been in the batter, and V was allergic to eggs. By the time I realised my mistake, she had already taken three bites. She spotted the look of horror on my face.

‘Don’t worry; I’ve already taken a pill for that.’ I breathed a sigh of relief.

I penned this post with that episode in mind. Asian cities are great for their street food, but the ingredients that go into these delicacies and their condiments may contain allergens that diners aren’t aware of. For visitors with food allergies, staying satiated, comfortable and alive requires extra research and planning. I’m focusing on Singaporean dishes since I’m familiar with them. Hopefully, the knowledge translates into a less painful experience in the city-state for you and your guests.

Note: Please take this as a general guide to what goes into various dishes. It’s not exhaustive, and I cannot guarantee that you will be alright if you follow this guide. I cannot account for individual recipe variations that include ingredients that you are allergic to.

About Food Allegens in Singapore

Singapore’s cuisine reflects the ethnic mix of its people; therefore, there are usually options if you’re allergic to an ingredient that one culture frequently uses in its food. The cheapest places to get one’s fill are the hawker centre, but there are also cafes and restaurants that serve up refined versions of the local cuisine.

However, awareness of food allergies here is low compared to America, Europe and Australia. Some restaurants mark the dishes that do not contain allergens on their menus; however, establishments that are completely free of (insert allergen here) are rare. There isn’t a local agency that certifies such places or administers standards. Hawkers are much less likely to tell you what goes into your food, especially if there is a long line of people behind you.

The following six ingredients affect 90% of the world’s food allergy sufferers. I’ve listed the dishes that you probably didn’t know contain these allergens and, where possible, the establishments that omit them.

A dish of fried carrot cake. You wouldn’t have guessed from the name alone that it has eggs and fish sauce.

Eggs

Culprits: Any food that is battered and fried; some types of tofu; fried carrot cake; wheat noodle varieties such as u-mee/mee kia and mee pok; wanton and dumpling skins; egg wash on pies, bread and puffs; custard buns and tarts; fish soup (may include crispy egg threads); some mooncakes; murtabak (an Indian-style crepe filled with meat, eggs and onions–plain prata may be contaminated if prepared on the same griddle); fried rice.

Peanuts, sesame seeds and nuts

Culprits: Many spicy Peranakan and Malay dishes (candlenut is often an ingredient in the spice mix); the chilli paste of Chinese noodle dishes (candlenut sometimes); satay sauce, rojak (as a topping on the fruit salad); pancakes (e.g. mee chiang kueh); kueh tutu (a steamed cake); tang yuan (rice flour balls with a nut, sesame or bean filling); nasi lemak; dishes fried with peanut oil. Roasted sesame oil is often added to congee and chicken rice for flavour, while the light version is sometimes used to fry tempura. The seeds also appear on some Chinese, Japanese and Malay desserts. Some ramen shops also serve them as an optional garnish.

Examples of relatively safe hawker dishes: Soy is such a big part of East Asian cooking that I will just suggest Indian dishes.

Celiac disease

Culprits: Things that contain soy or fish sauce (see above); wheat flour is sometimes used to thicken gravies. Note that “barley” drinks are usually prepared with Job’s tears, which are gluten-free.

There are establishments which have gluten-free options on their menus, such as The Soup Spoon chain, Entre-Nous, HRVST and Super Loco at Customs House and Robertson Quay, but there’s the risk of cross-contamination for very sensitive people. Then there is The Butcher’s Wife, where the menu is gluten-free. All these places usually do not serve Singaporean cuisine.

Tips for Visitors with Food Allergies

Do your research. Reading this post is a good start, if I may say so. Search travel and expatriate forums and ask if you can’t get the answers you’re looking for.

Going to a restaurant? Call well ahead to reserve a spot and let them know your needs. They’ll appreciate this far more than if you were to walk in unannounced and make your demands. If you have an allergen-free version of an essential condiment, bring it along for the restaurant’s use.

Get a knowledgeable local to take you places and double up as an interpreter.

Be prepared to go without. Spice mixes are usually prepared in the morning and not a la minute. The cook may not deem it worthwhile to make a new batch to accommodate you. Ingredients may be sometimes prepared in an off-site kitchen.

Let me know in the comments if I’ve missed something so that everyone benefits! And if you’re looking for things to do, have a look at my two-week Singapore itinerary. Feeling brave enough already? Here are five unusual dishes you can try.

12 Comments

Henriette17/09/2017 @ 9:57 AM

Hello, we live in Singapore and friends from New Zealand will be visiting soon. One of them has a sesame allergy. It will be his first time in an Asian country so a shame not to experience street food and restaurants. Are there some types of cuisine that don’t use sesame seeds or oil? Indian, Thai, Japanese for eg? Any other advice?

Hi! Local Chinese and Japanese cuisine frequently use sesame seeds and oil in dishes such as congee, mochi/muah chee and chicken rice, so it is best to avoid them. Malay and Indian cooking don’t typically use those ingredients (other than in some desserts), but you may want to ask anyway.

Hi. Thanks for the tips. Just wondering if you have any suggestions on a few restaurants that you find are more accommodating to allergies than others. Coming for a holiday soon and have one daughter with an egg allergy and one daughter with a dairy allergy. Many thanks.

Thanks for reading! Depending on the severity of their allergies, you may be well-served by visiting those establishments that are vegetarian or vegan. There are good lists at Expat Living and The Smart Local. I haven’t enough experience with other establishments to know how accommodating they are.

Hi Thanks for all the great infomation. I have family just moved to Singapore, this will be our second visit. I like your 14 day guide, some of the places are on our to do list. Can you recommend eateries for a friend who is allergic to coconut? How easy/difficult is it to avoid.

Thanks for reading. I’m afraid I’m unaware of any eateries that leave out coconut (including coconut milk, water and sugar). However, generally, she’ll be fine if you avoid Malay, Indonesian and Peranakan dishes (nasi lemak, rendang, cendol, bubur chacha, sayur lodeh, laksa, pulut hitam, otak-otak, etc). A few Indian (some curries, sambar, putu mayam/string hoppers, appam) and Thai dishes (curries and desserts) call for it while Chinese cooking rarely does (sometimes it’s in a curry or a pancake filling). Some ice-creams (vegan ones and those flavours based on local desserts) and “potong” popsicles may also contain coconut milk. I hope this helps.

Hello! Thank you for all this info! We are moving to Singapore and my children have multiple severe food allergies. Do you know any restaurants that have allergy menus where they list the ingredients of the dishes? Thank you so much for your help!

The only restaurant chain I know of that lists individual ingredients is The Soup Spoon. Others like Kitchen by Food Rebel and The Living Cafe state whether their dishes are dairy/gluten/nut-free. I’m still keeping an eye out for the extra-helpful places. All the best with the move!

I’m travelling to Singapore with a friend who will be celebrating a big birthday. I want to take her to a great place for lunch but I have food allergies (dairy, eggs, seafood, nuts, coconut). Do you know of a restaurant or two that is deliciously noteworthy but allergy-friendly as well?

My wife and I are in Singapore for Chinese New Year and we have both developed allergy to Nonya Kueh (green Singapore sweets). This has caused us hives and itching to the head, neck, arms and hands. BTW, she is Singaporean and neither of us can recall having this allergy before………….

Sorry to hear about this and I hope you’re both alright now. There are many types of kueh and they may contain coconut, coconut milk, egg, pandan, gula Melaka, other kinds of sugar, sweet potato, tapioca, rice, peanuts, seafood (in the savoury types), colouring additives or other ingredients. If you have had that particular kueh elsewhere without any problems, it may just be that particular store. It’s difficult to pinpoint with the available information, though.